Gladion's Journey Book 1: Hammer
by 98 Percent Insane
Summary: The new Aether Foundation president starts his own Pokemon Journey with the help of his Pokemon partner, Silvally. His first mission: to defeat the villainous Team Hammer in a new region with all new Pokemon. Will he succeed? Find out as the journey continues! If you like this story, be sure to check out the other two in the series: Catherine's Journey and Lillie's Journey!
1. Chapter 1

_**RKS and Rosetzel**_

A boy in a black, torn-up hoodie walked through the swamp with his Pokemon at his side. He hated everything about this stupid swamp. The smell, the squishy feeling between his toes, and especially the fact that he had to keep walking at least another five miles through cruddy marshland to reach his destination.

This boy was Gladion. Now that Gladion was president of the Aether Foundation due to the current condition of his mother, he had been forced to make appearances in regions all over the world where new Aether Foundation headquarters had opened up. All a part of a way to raise public support for the Foundation after the, er… Incident five years ago in Alola. Today's stop: the swampy, muddy, cruddy, cruddy region of Miamia.

"We'd already be there if you would have taken the helicopter like Wicke offered!"

"I'm aware of that." Gladion grumbled angrily. The stupid, white, slim, and glossy machine floating next to him was his brand new Aetherdex: a type of artificially intelligent Pokedex developed by the ex-Alolan branch chief, Faba. In fact, Gladion imagined Faba programmed this particular Aetherdex to torment him so much simply out of petty anger over Gladion defeating him five years ago and stripping him of his branch chief title.

"How stupid do you have to be to pick walking through a swamp over flying in a helicopter?" The Aetherdex said. It wasn't that Gladion was stupid. He just hated looking like a spoiled rich kid. Being a part of the Aether Foundation already gave him enough of an image of that. Plus, he enjoyed spending quality time with his Pokemon partner, Silvally.

"Shut up or I'll have Silvally eat you." Gladion grumbled. The Aetherdex knew Gladion's threats were empty, but it nevertheless shut up.

"Please! No!"

"Shut up and give us the Pokemon!"

Gladion looked over in the direction he heard that noise. It sounded like a child was being threatened. He rushed through the thick Mangrove trees of the swamp into a clearing where a little girl, probably no older than ten, was clutching a little Happiny close to herself in terror as two large men in silver and bronze tank tops loomed over her.

"Please! Please don't take my Pokemon!" She cried.

"I said shut up!" One of the two goons kicked some mud at the little girl. "Grab her Pokemon!" He said to the other goon.

"Hey!" The two goons wheeled around to see Gladion standing behind them. "Leave her alone!" He yelled at them.

The two goons both sneered, their black sunglasses shining evilly in the light. Gladion noticed something: a silver symbol on the front of their tank tops that resembled a hammer with a bronze H in the middle of it.

"And who's gonna make us?" The first goon said.

"I am!" Gladion said. "Either leave the girl alone, or my partner, Silvally, and I are going to make you sorry!"

"Get a load of the kid." The second goon said to the first. They both drew a Pokeball from their belts. "Let's teach him a lesson. Go, Roserade!"

"Floatzel, come on out!"

The two goons threw out their Pokemon: a Roserade and a Floatzel. Gladion wasn't worried though. He slipped off his backpack and took a look at his collection of Memory Drives for Silvally. He decided to load in an Electric type drive, causing Silvally's tail and crest tips to glow a bright, electric yellow. "Silvally, use Crush Claw!"

"Vaaaally!" Silvally's front claw glowed bright white as he leapt up to attack the Roserade.

"Roserade, use Protect!"

"And, Floatzel, use Hydro Pump!"

Silvally's Crush Claw was blocked by a green forcefield, and he was then hit by a powerful blast of water from Floatzel, sending him flying backwards. "Floatzel, Aqua Jet! Go!" The one goon's Floatzel surrounded itself with water and rocketed towards Silvally at a high speed.

"Silvally, use Multi-Attack!" Silvally's RKS System glowed with power, transferring that power into its claws. It brought its claw down hard on Floatzel, blocking its attack and dealing a heaping ton of damage. "Now use X-Scissor on Roserade!"

Silvally's claws both glowed insect green as it leapt up to attack Roserade. "Roserade, use Protect again!" Roserade tried, but couldn't because it had already used that move. It got hit by Silvally bringing its claws down it in an X motion. "Gah! I think it's time we ended this!" The Roserade goon said to the other.

"Definitely." The other goon said, grinning maliciously. He raised his arms. On his wrists, Gladion could see two wristbands that resembled Z-Rings, but there were two of them for some reason. "Pokemon, combine your fighting spirits!" The goon said, slowly moving his arms around in a circle. "Fuse together! Let two become one! _Pokemon Fusion!_ "

He clashed the two wristbands together, connecting them with each other. Gladion could see two gems, one on each wristband, now stuck together. From the gems came waves of bright red energy. Roserade and Floatzel both got up and suddenly turned into purple and blue energy respectively. The two energy forms flew up and circled each other, finally coming together in a bright burst of light.

Where Roserade and Floatzel had once stood, a new Pokemon had been formed. It had the body of Floatzel, green fur, a white rose on top of its head, and two more roses on each of its wrists, one red one blue like Roserade. "Rosetzel!" It roared.

"What is that thing?" Gladion asked.

Aetherdex floated up to scan it. "Scanning… Scanning…" It said. "Rosetzel: the Fusion of Roserade and Floatzel. A Poison/Water type."

"Fusion?" Gladion mused. Is that what they did? Fuse their Pokemon together? But how?

The goons grinned at Gladion's shock and confusion. "Let's show this punk what Rosetzel can do!" The goon with the wristbands said.

Gladion snapped out of his confused state. "Silvally, get ready!" He warned his partner.

"Rosetzel, Fusion Attack! Use _Aquatic Acid Blast!_ "

Rosetzel brought its arms forward. A ball of purple, acidic water formed in front of it. It charged the ball up, brought it back, and shot it forward, creating a blast of acidic water. "Roooooosetzeeeeeelll!" Rosetzel roared.

"Silvally, block it with Multi-Attack!" Gladion commanded. Silvally brought its claw up and brought it down to block the attack. Silvally was still forced backwards quite a bit. When the attack stopped, it was clear Silvally had taken a lot of damage, but he was still standing and that's what counted.

"But… How?!" The one goon exclaimed.

"That's one strong Pokemon." The other goon observed.

Gladion felt his Z-Ring grow warm. He rolled back the sleeve of his hoodie to see the artifical Z-Crystal attached to it, the one Wicke had constructed for Gladion when he was made the Aether Foundation's new president, was glowing. Gladion grinned. "You don't know the half of it." He said. Gladion began the Z-Move dance for Normal type Z-Moves. "The zenith of my mind, of body, and spirit!" He said as he did the dance. "With the power of the great light of Aether, unleash the fury of legends and pass judgment on your opponents! _RKS Onslaught!_ "

Silvally was suddenly surrounded by Z-Power energy. Its RKS System glowed. "Silvallyyyyy!" It roared. Several beams of light came out of its RKS System, flying up into the sky and exploding into hundreds of energy bolts that came raining down on Rosetzel.

"Roooooooose!" Rosetzel roared as it was bombarded by powerful bolts of energy. A dense cloud of dust was kicked up by the impacts of the bolts. When it cleared, Rosetzel was nowhere to be seen, but both of its components laid unconscious in the mud of the swamp.

"What?! No!" One of the goons exclaimed.

Gladion stepped forward with Silvally. "You two had better get out of here if you know what's good for you." Gladion said. Silvally growled too, causing the two goons to jump in fright.

"W-we won't forget this!" One of them said as he returned his Pokemon and raced away.

"Yeah!" The other one said, doing the same. "Nobody messes with Team Hammer and gets away with it!"

As the two goons raced off, Gladion couldn't help but ponder what they said. _Team Hammer…_ He would have to get Wicke to research that term for him. At least the girl was safe now.

The girl!

Gladion had almost forgotten why he was battling those two goons in the first place. He looked over at where the girl and her Happiny were. They still looked a little shook up, but otherwise they were okay. Gladion slowly approached them. "Hi there." He said gently. The little girl clutched her Happiny closer and shivered in fright. "It's okay." Gladion said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Are you okay?"

The little girl looked up at him. "I'm f-fine." She stammered.

"Happiny." Happiny said quietly, still a little scared.

Gladion smiled. "Good." He said. "Where do you live? I can get you there real quick in a helicopter."

"If you had taken the helicopter to begin with, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place!" Aetherdex said, very irritated.

"If I had taken the helicopter, I couldn't have saved this girl. So, why don't you shut your stupid machine mouth and call the copter already?" Gladion said, quite annoyed to the Aetherdex.

"Hmph!" Aetherdex, though still peeved, called over the helicopter, and in a few moments it had arrived.

"Where do you live?" Gladion asked the little girl.

"I-in Cinarum Town." The girl said.

"Huh." Gladion said, surprised by the coincidence. "That's just where I was heading too."

As the helicopter took off, Gladion wondered who this little girl was. He also wondered more about this "Team Hammer" and how they had fused their Pokemon together like that. He also wondered whether this was fate, him being there to see all this and save this little girl and her Happiny. He supposed he'd find out when they reached Cinarum Town.

…

Back down in the swamp, two figures, hidden among the Mangrove trees, watched as the chopper took off with Gladion and the little girl inside. One of the figures was young, maybe in his early twenties, had long brown hair with the sides of his head shaved, and wore a bright white tank top with chrome colored pants. The other was a middle-aged woman, probably in her fifties, with short, grey hair, wearing a long, black dress with long sleeves. Each of them had a bright golden G emblazoned on their chests.

"That our guy?" The man said, an insane smile on his face.

The woman took a while to answer. "Yes." She said quietly. "He will lead us to him. We must capture him and his Pokemon at all costs."

"Goodie." The man said, his grin widening. He thoroughly enjoyed the thought of doing anything "at all costs."

The two figures rode out on ATVs that cut through the swamp's muck easily. Whoever they were, they were chasing after Gladion.

But they were chasing someone else too.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Mercury and Pluto**_

The helicopter ride was mostly silent, save for Aetherdex lecturing Gladion on how they'll surely be late for the ceremony now. Gladion just tuned him out. He had perfected that technique over the course of many other snide comments and lectures such as this one.

The girl Gladion had rescued sat across from him, hugging her Happiny close after what happened. Silvally was asleep on the floor of the chopper, resting after its last battle. Gladion studied the girl. She had brown hair tied in a ponytail and wore a pink dress. She couldn't have been more than ten years old, probably only just having received that Pokemon.

Gladion noticed that his studying of the girl was making her uncomfortable. He decided it would be best to talk to her. "So," he said, "what's your name?"

The girl stayed silent for a few moments before she spoke. "Vally." She replied in a small voice. Once again, silence filled the room. Vally seemed too shaken up after what happened to speak and Gladion generally preferred silence anyway.

"Thank you for saving me."

Gladion looked up. Vally was looking up and him and smiling. Gladion gave a small smile too. "You're welcome." He replied.

"You're a really strong trainer!" Vally said animatedly, coming out of her shell a bit. "You must be the strongest trainer in the world if you can beat a Pokemon Fusion with just one Pokemon!"

Gladion patted Silvally's head. It made a noise in its sleep but didn't wake up. "I owe it all to my partner." He said.

"That's such a cool Pokemon!" Vally said. "What's his name?"

"Silvally." Gladion replied proudly.

"Hey! Part of that's my name!" Vally said excitedly.

"Heh. Yeah." Gladion stayed silent for a moment. Then he asked, "What _is_ Pokemon Fusion?"

Vally thought for a moment then shrugged. "I dunno." She said. "I just know it's a new thing and that only really strong trainers can do it."

Gladion nodded. He'd have to have Wicke do some research on that. Finally, the chopper landed in Cinarum Town. "We're here." Aetherdex said. "And let's pray that you aren't late for the opening ceremony."

"Aw, shut it." Gladion said, grabbing Aetherdex and stuffing it in his bag.

"Opening ceremony?" Vally asked as she and Gladion got off the helicopter. "For what?"

"A new Aether Foundation branch." Gladion replied as they walked through the town. The town wasn't much to look at. A few houses, a couple of small businesses, a Pokemon laboratory that could be seen in the distance, and, of course, the gigantic new Aether Foundation laboratory right next to it. Gladion turned to Vally. "You should probably be heading home now. "He said.

"No way!" Vally replied. "I wanna see the Aether Foundation building! Can I please come with you? Pleeeeeeaaase?"

Gladion thought for a moment, then gave a small smile and nodded. "Sure. Come on." He said as they kept heading towards the Aether Foundation lab.

One thing Gladion didn't take into account before allowing Vally to follow him was the mob of reporters that were waiting for him there. "Gladion! Gladion!" One of them said. "What do you have to say about what the Aether Foundation plans to do in Miamia?"

"No comment." Gladion said grumpily.

"What about the reports of Ultra Beast sightings in other regions?" Asked another one.

"No comment!" Gladion said, more grumpily.

"What do you have to say about your mother's insane actions five years a-"

"I said NO COMMENT!" Gladion shouted, shoving past the reporters to get to the podium in front of the new lab. Standing nearby was the jerkiest of jerkbags, the king of crud, the one person Gladion hated most in the world: Faba. "I assume the reporters are your doing." Gladion growled.

Faba shrugged. "I simply thought the Foundation could use some extra press." He said with a sly smile. Gladion rolled his eyes. He knew Faba only called the reporters to annoy him. "Who is this?" Faba asked, gesturing to Vally and her Happiny with a sneer of disgust.

"Hi! I'm Vally!" Vally said excitedly. "And this is my Happiny!"

"Happiny!" Happiny said happily. Faba's face contorted with disgust.

"And you'll treat them with respect." Gladion said in a threatening tone. Faba's disgust contortion only grew worse. If there was one thing he hated more than children, it was being ordered around by children. Gladion turned to face the press. "Hello, everybody." He said. "I'm Gladion, president of the Aether Foundation. I, uh, prepared a speech."

Before Gladion could begin his speech, though, the sound of maniacal laughter and ATV engines ripped through the air. "You won't be needing it now!" Yelled a crazy-sounding voice. Suddenly, two figures on ATVs sped up, scattering the crowd of reporters. They took off their helmets. One of the figures was a man who had long brown hair with the sides of his head shaved, beady eyes and a crazy smile, and was wearing a white tank top and chrome-colored pants. The other was a woman who had short, grey hair, a solemn expression on her face, and wore a long, black dress with a high collar. Both of them had golden G's emblazoned on their chests. "Hee hee hee! What do you say, Pluto?" The man said. "Can we rip him to shreds, or what?"

"No, Mercury." The woman, apparently called Pluto, said calmly. "We need him alive."

"Who are you people?!" Faba yelled at the two of them. "And what idea do you have interrupting the Aether Foundation's business?!"

"We," Pluto said, "are Team Galactic. And we require the Pokemon belonging to the Aether Foundation's president."

The reporters all gasped and murmured. "Team Galactic?"

"In Miamia?"

"Weren't they disbanded?"

Gladion stepped forward. "Nobody's taking Silvally." He said in a deadly quiet voice.

Mercury grinned wickedly. "Suit yourself!" He said, taking out a Pokeball. "I was hoping we'd have to use force! Toxicroak, come on out!" Mercury threw the Pokeball, and from it appeared a Toxicroak.

"Toxicroooooaaaak!" The Toxicroak roared. Gladion was surprised by how powerful this Pokemon seemed. It appeared to be all fired up for battle.

Pluto also produced a Pokeball. She sighed. "I suppose if we have to." She said. "Lucario, I choose you!"

A Lucario appeared from Pluto's Pokeball. There was something different about this Lucario, though. It appeared older than the ones Gladion had seen before. It looked almost elderly, but still appeared to be very strong. "Lucar!" The Lucario grunted.

Gladion turned to Slivally. "You okay enough to battle?"

"Val!" Silvally responded. Gladion grinned. From his bag, he selected the Psychic type Memory Drive and loaded it into Silvally's RKS System, causing his head fins and tail to turn bright pink. Silvally jumped off the stage, ready for battle. "Vally!" It roared.

"Silvally, use Multi-Attack on Toxicroak!"

Silvally rushed forward, energy from its RKS System flowing to its claws. It raised its claw to attack, but, before it could… "Toxicroak, dodge it!" With impossible speed, Mercury's Toxicroak jumped upwards to dodge Silvally's claw. "Now use Mud Bomb!"

"Croak!" Toxicroak fired multiple globs of mud down at Silvally. Silvally jumped out of the way of the mud as it hit the ground and exploded.

"Lucario, Flash Cannon!" Pluto commanded.

Lucario fired a bright silver beam of energy at Silvally. Silvally jumped out of the way just in time, though. "Silvally, use Crush Claw on Lucario!" Gladion yelled.

Silvally's claw glowed bright white. It rushed at Lucario and lunged to attack it. "Block it with Iron Defense!" Pluto commanded. Lucario and glowed bright silver as Silvally brought its claw down. It crossed its arms to block the attack. Lucario's enhanced defense allowed it to easily withstand the hit. "Now use Power-Up Punch!"

"Lucar!" Lucario's fist glowed bright red as it threw Silvally off of it and hit it with its full strength. Silvally was sent sliding back a few feet, but it seemed okay. The only problem now was that Lucario now had increased defense and attack stats.

"Silvally, use-"

"Toxicroak, use Sucker Punch!"

Before Gladion could finish his command, Mercury's Toxicroak sped up, its fist glowing black, and punched Silvally with a super-effective attack. Silvally was sent flying back a few feet after taking that hit. It got up and was panting hard. Apparently, it had not yet fully recovered from its last fight. "Hee hee hee!" Mercury laughed insanely. "Time to finish you off! Toxicroak, use-"

"Happiny, use Copycat!" Suddenly, Vally's Happiny jumped in between Silvally and Toxicroak and hit Toxicroak with Sucker Punch, surprising Toxicroak and sending it to the ground despite the weak quality of the attack.

"Piny!" Happiny shouted. Gladion was stunned. Just as he had saved Vally from Team Hammer, Vally was saving him from Team Galactic. However, it also meant that her Happiny was in extreme danger. Toxicroak got back up and stood over the tiny Pokemon.

"Croak." It said darkly, regarding Happiny as if it were a lesser being it was about to beat down.

"How dare you!" Mercury screeched. "I'll rip your stupid little Pokemon limb from-"

"Hold it right there, Team Galactic!" Mercury and Pluto took their eyes off the battle to see that they were surrounded by a squad of police officers. Officer Jenny sat on a motorcycle with a megaphone. "We've got you surrounded!" She said into the megaphone. "Give yourselves up and there won't be any trouble!"

Pluto sighed. "And just when we were starting to pull ahead." She said glumly. "Lucario, clear a path for us."

"Lucar!" Lucario plunged its fist into the earth, using Stone Edge and causing several stone spikes to rise up from the ground, destroying several police jeeps and clearing a path for Pluto and Mercury to escape. They returned their Pokemon to their balls and sped off on their ATVs.

"How did the police know to come here?" Gladion wondered aloud.

"Because I called them." Aetherdex said, somehow having gotten out of Gladion's bag. "Honestly, if you'd just done that in the first place, your Pokemon wouldn't have-" Gladion grabbed the annoying Pokedex and stuffed it back in his bag.

Gladion turned to Vally as she went over and picked up her Happiny. "You shouldn't have done that." He said, walking over to her.

"Why not?" Vally asked. "I saved your Pokemon."

"Because now Team Galactic might come after you." Gladion replied. "I appreciate you helping me, but I don't want you to put yourself in danger like that again."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Vally retorted.

Gladion glared at her for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I can't." He said. "Thanks again."

Vally smiled. "Hey, do you wanna come over to my house?" She asked him. "My mom can make you some lunch. It's the least I could do for you saving me earlier."

Gladion thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. Beats doing a thousand interviews and a dumb speech. Didn't really even have one prepared anyway."

"Yay!" Vally raced off towards her house and Gladion followed her at a much slower pace, walking side-by-side with Silvally. As he walked, Gladion thought about Team Galactic and why they might have wanted to take Silvally. He had heard of them before and knew that they came from the Sinnoh region. However, he also knew that the team had been disbanded long ago. Though, evidently that wasn't true. He would have to ask Wicke about them, as well as ask her about Team Hammer and this new Pokemon Fusion technique. Something strange was happening in the Miamia region. And Gladion was going to find out what it was.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A New Partner**_

"Well, that was embarrassing." Pluto remarked, taking off her helmet. She and Mercury had just found a good hiding spot from the police: a thick grove of mangrove trees that would shield them from anyone's sight.

"You're telling me!" Mercury yelled. "We coulda had that stupid kid's Pokemon if the cops hadn't shown up! Ugh! I can't believe this!" He turned to Pluto. "How can you be so calm right now?" He demanded.

"Because I don't see our battle as a defeat." Pluto replied. "I see it as a test. And the results of the test show that we can beat Gladion in battle."

"But we didn't beat him!" Mercury exclaimed.

"No," Pluto said calmly, "but we were winning when the police arrived. That shows that we can take him down when next we meet him."

Mercury considered this for a moment, then grinned wickedly. "Whaddaya say we go meet him right now?" He suggested, putting on his helmet.

Pluto gave a small smile and put her own helmet back on as well. Together, they sped on their ATVs back to Cinarum Town. Back to Gladion. And, this time, they were going to beat him.

…

"Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Barton."

Gladion was enjoying a PB&J sandwich prepared by Vally's mother. Silvally and Vally's Happiny each enjoyed a bowl of Pokemon food next to the table as their trainers ate.

"Why, it was my pleasure." Vally's mother said in a thick Southern accent. "I'm happy to repay the boy who saved my little princess."

Vally's mother ruffled up Vally's hair. Vally pushed her mother's hands away. "Mom! Quit it!" Vally complained.

"Oh, come on, Valerie. Can't a mother love on her daughter once in a while?"

"Mo-om!" Gladion had noted that Vally hated being called by her full name apparently. He didn't know why, but he wasn't interested enough to ask.

Vally's mother turned back to Gladion. "So, Gladion, what brings you to Miamia?" She asked.

"The new Aether Foundation lab that just opened in town." Gladion explained.

"He's the president!" Vally said to her mother. Gladion hated being called the president of the Aether Foundation. It made him feel like a spoiled rich kid. But he let Vally's comment slide.

"The president?" Vally's mother said. "My oh, my, you sure must be important!" Gladion shrugged. "So, how long are you staying in Miamia?"

"Dunno." Gladion said. "I can basically stay for as long as I want, or until they need me to make another appearance somewhere." Gladion hoped that his reason for leaving Miamia in the future wouldn't be the latter.

"Well, hey! That's great news!" Vally's mother said. "That means you can challenge the Pokemon League here!"

"Pokemon League?" Gladion had wanted to challenge a League ever since he battled his own region's current Champion, Catherine, at the base of Mt. Lanakila five years ago. He had just never had the chance because the Aether Foundation kept him so busy. But right now business was pretty slow for the Foundation. It might just be the best time to challenge a League.

"Vally here's wanting to challenge the League too!" Vally's mother said. "Aren't you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah!" Vally said excitedly. "Me and Happiny are gonna win the whole thing this year! Right, Happiny?"

"Happiny!" Vally's Happiny jumped into her lap, excited about the concept of challenging the Pokemon League.

"Vally, I keep telling you, if you wanna challenge the Pokemon League, you're gonna need a stronger Pokemon." Her mother said.

"But I love Happiny." Vally replied. "And she's gonna get stronger too!"

"I don't doubt that," Vally's mom said, rubbing Happiny kindly on the head, "but you're still gonna need more Pokemon if you wanna beat the League. It'd be best for you to go down to the lab in town and pick out another Pokemon to help you out."

Vally looked like she really didn't want another Pokemon partner, and Gladion didn't blame her. He knew that he certainly didn't want or need any other Pokemon than Silvally. Gladion was confident that his partner could take down any trainer on its own.

"Gladion?" Gladion's thoughts were jarred by Vally speaking up. "Would you go to the Pokemon lab with me to get a new Pokemon?" She asked.

Gladion wanted to say no, but Vally's puppy dog eyes expression broke his iron will. "Sure." He said, popping the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth and getting up to go.

Gladion, Vally, and their Pokemon headed down to the Pokemon laboratory in Cinarum Town. On the way there, Aetherdex kept giving Gladion "helpful" advice. "If those Team Galactic rapscallions show up again, you'll probably want a Fire type to better combat them." It said.

"Thanks, Aetherdex." Gladion said emotionlessly, barely even listening to the stupid thing.

"Of course, a Water type would also do you well if the battle is taking place in an aquatic area, which this region is known to have many of."

"Thanks, Aetherdex."

"Then again, a Grass type would-"

"Aetherdex?"

"Yes, Gladion?"

"Shut up."

They reached the lab with no problem. When they got inside, they were surprised to find that a battle was going on in the middle of the lab between a muscular man in a lab coat and a boy around Vally's age. The lab coat-wearing man was using a rabbit-looking Pokemon that stood up on its hind legs and had bright red fur with an orange belly and long, upright ears. The boy was using a blue lizard Pokemon with bright pink eyes. "Harember, use Ember!" The muscular lab coated man commanded.

The rabbit Pokemon summoned a small ball of fire between its ears and lobbed it at the boy's Pokemon.

"Dodge it, Geckaqua! Then use Water Gun!" The boy said. The boy's Pokemon jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the Ember attack, then sprayed the Harember with a blast of water. Harember was down for the count.

"Congratulations, son." The muscular lab-coated man said, offering his hand for the boy to shake. "It appears that you chose a fine partner"

The boy shook the lab-coated man's hand. "Thanks, Prof. Hickory! I'm gonna train real hard with him! Right, Geckaqua?"

"Gecka!" The Pokemon croaked.

The boy left happily with his new Pokemon. The man called Prof. Hickory picked up Harember and fed it a Revive to help it recover a little. He set it up on a lab table then turned around to see Gladion and Vally standing there. "Oh. Hello there!" He said happily. "Are you two here to receive a new Pokemon?" Vally nodded. Gladion didn't respond in any way. "Terrific!" Prof. Hickory said. "I'm Prof. Hickory. I run the lab here in town."

Gladion looked Prof. Hickory up and down. The man reminded him a little of Prof. Kukui. Same tan skin, same excitable attitude, the only differences were that this man's hair was much longer and much more wild, his muscles were much bigger, and this man actually wore a shirt under his lab coat.

"What exactly are you researching here?" Gladion asked, looking around the lab. The place was a mess. There were scorch marks on the floor from Ember attacks, claw marks on the walls from Scratches, and several more places where the lab and its equipment had been damaged from Pokemon attacks.

"Battling." Prof. Hickory answered, retrieving a couple of Pokeballs from a shelf. "My goal is to find the secret to winning any Pokemon battle no matter what Pokemon you have or which one you're facing. And, speaking of Pokemon you have, come on out everybody!"

Prof. Hickory tossed out the two Pokeballs he had, and two Pokemon appeared next to Harember on the table. One was the same blue lizard that the other boy had left with. The other looked like a hamster with green fur, a white, pudgy belly and white, puffy cheeks. "These are the Pokemon I give out here at the lab." Prof. Hickory explained. "First, we have the Grass type Squeakotton."

"Squeak!" The hamster Pokemon said happily.

Vally was immediately struck with emotion. She grabbed Squeakotton and hugged it close to her face. "Ohhhh, look at its tiny, puffy cheeks!" Vally squealed. "I want this one!"

"A fine choice." Prof. Hickory said.

Vally set Squeakotton down next to her Happiny. "Squeakotton, meet your new friend, Happiny." Vally said.

"Squeak!" Squeakotton said happily. It ran up to Happiny and started rubbing its cheeks up against it as Happiny giggled.

"Uh, what's it doing?" Gladion asked.

"Allow me to explain." Aetherdex said. "Squeakotton: The Cotton Cheeks Pokemon. A Grass type. When Squeakotton sees something it likes, it will rub its cottony cheeks on it as a sign of kindness."

"Awww." Vally said sweetly. "They're already friends!"

Prof. Hickory turned to Gladion. "What about you, son?" He asked. "You gonna pick a Pokemon?"

Gladion shook his head. "No thanks." He said. "Silvally's the only partner I need." Gladion patted Silvally's neck. Silvally responded by licking Gladion's cheek, leaving his face very wet.

"Suit yourself." Prof. Hickory said. He then turned to Vally. "Now, little miss, I have a tradition here for new trainers."

"What's that?" Vally asked.

Prof. Hickory grinned. "A battle, of course!" He declared. "I'll be your opponent for your first ever Pokemon battle!"

Vally smiled. "All right! Let's do it!"

"Yes! Let's!" Vally, Gladion, and Prof. Hickory all turned in surprise to see Mercury and Pluto and their Pokemon, Toxicroak and Lucario, standing by the door to the lab. Mercury grinned insanely. "Your choice, kids!" He said. "Either hand over that Silvally or face the consequences!"

"Aetherdex, call the police to pick up these losers." Gladion said.

"I'm on it!" Aetherdex said, already dialing the number.

"I don't think so." Pluto said. She pulled out a remote control and pressed a button on it. Suddenly, all the lights and equipment in the lab shut off and Aetherdex dropped to the ground, completely shut down.

"What did you do?" Gladion asked heatedly.

"Just set off a simple electromagnetic pulse." Pluto explained. "The police won't be saving you this time."

Gladion gritted his teeth. "Vally, get out of here." He said, taking out and loading the Ground Memory Drive into Silvally's RKS System. "I'll handle Team Galactic."

"No way!" Vally responded confidently. "Me, Happiny, and Squeakotton are gonna fight with you!"

"Happiny!" Happiny said, stepping forward to fight.

"Squeak?" Squeakotton said nervously. It appeared that this Pokemon knew it was fighting opponents out of its league.

Gladion wanted to order Vally to run, but he knew he couldn't tell her what to do. He sighed. "Fine." He said. "Just be careful."

Mercury chuckled wickedly. "You'll be sorry, kid!" He said. "Toxicroak, Mud Bomb! Let's go!"

"Toxiiiiicroak!" Toxicroak fired several globs of mud from its mouth at Happiny and Squeakotton.

"Silvally, protect them!" Gladion shouted.

"Vally!" Silvally jumped in front of Happiny and Squeakotton, taking the full brunt of the attack. Fortunately, its Ground typing made the attack not very effective.

"Happiny, use Copycat!" Vally ordered.

Happiny jumped up on Silvally's back and fired a Mud Bomb attack at Toxicroak.

"Dodge it, Toxicroak!" Toxicroak lept out of the way, but the Mud Bomb attack managed to destroy a piece of lab equipment.

Prof. Hickory stepped forward. "I'll help too, kids!" He said. "Geckaqua, use Water Gun!" Geckaqua did not use Water Gun. In fact, it had retreated to under a desk, hoping to hide from all the powerful Pokemon battling right now. "Okay then… Harember, use…" Prof. Hickory looked around. Harember was nowhere to be seen. "Dang! Sorry, kids. I'm out." Prof. Hickory said.

Gladion was fine with that. The fewer Pokemon in danger, the better. "Silvally, use Multi-Attack on Lucario!"

Silvally rushed Lucario, its claw glowing dark orange. "Lucario, block it!" Pluto ordered. Lucario grabbed Silvally's claw with one hand, blocking the attack. Gladion was surprised to see that, despite this Lucario's elderly appearance, its strength matched that of Silvally. Clearly, this was one well-trained Pokemon. "Now attack with Power-Up Punch!"

"Lucar!" Lucario punched Silvally with a glowing fist right in the gut. Silvally went flying back.

"Silvally!" Gladion exclaimed. "You okay?"

"Silval!" Silvally replied, getting back up with a little effort.

Meanwhile, Mercury seemed to be focusing on Happiny and Squeakotton. "I'll squash your pathetic Pokemon!" He declared. "Toxicroak, use Poison Jab!"

"Toxicroooaaak!" Toxicroak lunged to attack, its glowing, purple fists dealing a flurry of quick punches. Fortunately, Happiny and Squeakotton's small size and high speed made them both very hard to hit.

"Squeakotton, Razor Leaf!" Vally shouted.

"Squeeeeeeaaaak!" Squeakooton fired a storm of razor sharp leaves at Toxicroak. It barely did any damage, but it did catch Toxicroak off guard.

"Toxicroak, pound that mouse!" Mercury yelled. "Use Revenge!"

Toxicroak's fist glowed bright red. It brought it down hard, barely missing Squeakotton and created a huge dent in the floor.

"Happiny, use Copycat!"

Happiny lept up at Toxicroak, its own fist glowing like Toxicroak's had. "Haaaaaapiny!" Happiny nailed Toxicroak right in the face with Revenge, scoring a critical hit that knocked Toxicroak back on its butt hard.

Mercury screamed with rage. "I'll kill you, stupid kid!" He screeched. Gladion had to give Vally credit. For a beginner, she was a natural Pokemon trainer.

"Lucario, use Power-Up Punch again!" Pluto ordered.

"Dodge it, Silvally!" But Silvally was too slow. Lucario hit it with full force, sending it falling back to the floor. "No!"

Pluto gave a small grin. "Finish it, Lucario." She said.

"Lucar!" Lucario raised its fist to finish Silvally off, but was suddenly hit by an Ember from out of nowhere.

"What was that?!" Pluto exclaimed.

"Harember!" Gladion looked and saw the small, Fire type bunny standing over by some lab equipment. It hadn't been hiding at all. It was just waiting for the perfect moment to attack. "Ember!" Haremeber fired another Ember attack, catching Lucario full in the face for a super-effective critical hit.

"Lucario, blast that Pokemon with Flash Cannon!" Pluto ordered. Lucario tried hitting Harember with that attack, but the bunny Pokemon was too quick. It lept agily from place to place, dodging Lucario's attacks and striking with its own fiery Embers.

Gladion knew this was his chance. "Silvally, Multi-Attack!"

"Siiilvally!" Silvally came up behind Lucario and struck it hard with its claw, sending Lucario flying and crashing into a piece of lab equipment.

Lucario had fainted. Pluto sighed and returned it to its ball. "Come, Mercury." She said, turning to leave. "We're done here."

"But Toxicroak's still standing!" Mercury argued. "I can still fight!"

"Yes, dear, but it would be four on one." Pluto said. "Don't fight a fight you can't win. Just leave with dignity."

Pluto walked out of the lab. Mercury turned back to Gladion, Vally, and their Pokemon, growled furiously, and returned his Toxicroak to its ball. "This isn't over!" He declared as he ran out of the lab. "You kids had better watch your backs!"

And then he was gone. Vally cheered. "We beat them!" She yelled excitedly. "We beat Team Galactic!" She ran up to Gladion and gave him a big hug.

"Yeah." He said, patting her gently on the head. "Thanks for the help." Gladion then looked over at the Pokemon that had saved Silvally: the little Harember. He then turned to Prof. Hickory. "You know what?" He said. "I think I actually will take a new Pokemon." Gladion knelt down next to Harember. "What do you say?" He asked it. "Do you want to join my team?"

Harember grinned. "Harember!" It said excitedly. Gladion took that as a yes.

"A fine choice!" Prof. Hickory said. "Best of luck on your journeys, you two!"

Prof. Hickory handed Gladion Harember's Pokeball, and Gladion returned the little Pokemon to it. A new member of his team. A new partner.

"It's getting late." Prof. Hickory observed. "You kids had better get going home."

Vally gasped excitedly. "You can sleep over at my house!" She said to Gladion. "Then tomorrow we can start travelling!"

Gladion gave a small smile. "I'll take you up on that." He said. Five years ago, Gladion would never have imagined he'd be going on a journey, challenging the Pokemon League, and meeting all sorts of new Pokemon. He was excited. And he wondered what other surprises Miamia had in store for him.


End file.
